LUGANSK, February 3. /TASS/. Russian troops advanced in southeast Konstantinovka in the DPR over the past day, with fierce fighting continuing near the railway station, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"In the southeast of Konstantinovka, our troops have made progress over the last 24 hours. Fierce battles have been ongoing in the area of the railway station for almost two weeks now," he said. "This very fact indicates that the Ukrainian command is trying by all means to prevent the liberation of this settlement."

Marochko stated Konstantinovka is strategically important as its liberation would allow an offensive on the Druzhkovka-Slavyansk agglomeration. "Konstantinovka is the last major stronghold of Ukrainian militants in Donbass," he noted, adding that both Western and Ukrainian analysts are alarmed as "Kiev is on the verge of losing its last foothold in Donbass."

Earlier, Marochko informed TASS that Russian troops began an offensive on Stepanovka, southwest of Konstantinovka, bypassing Ukrainian fortifications.